Aunt Lynn comes to town!

This post is full of pictures....we love Aunt Lynn! She got to come visit this week (until Sunday) and the kiddos and her sisters loved every minute. I will describe the pix as we go.

Here she is on the "love chair" or something of that nature is what she named it. While on the "love chair" there was no fighting, crying, hitting, etc. She made sure there was room for all children to lay by her. They are all eating a candy she brought for them....what a nice aunt! Tyler was mostly just crawling all over them and then falling off...it was his fun game.


Candy prep- the sour sauce that goes on the hard sucker part...and then the tongues that changed colors.





Me- on Sunday (2 weeks from due date) - Gwendalin took the picture...it's not great, but you can see my size. Personally I think it (me) looks like there are 2 pigs fighting under a blanket...just the shape of any pregnant person....

We got out the swing for baby Annabelle...Ty loves it and here is the proof.

Trying to make baby Annabelle laugh.

Just chatting as "sistas" - so much fun....

Sweet baby---so sweet....she hardly cries ever!

A Gwennie Girl ...

I had some cute pictures on my camera of recent things Gwendalin has been doing so I decided to do a Gwennie post. I went in her room the other day to find her asleep -for her nap- with her baby (huge doll by the way) on top of her. It was too cute to resist a picture....



Then this one is just Hunter playing with the camera but he caught her on film and I love the look on her face, it's how she tends to be- super happy all the time. I love it!

Last weekend we went to McCall just overnight and after a long day of no naps, swimming, traveling, etc - Gwendalin wouldn't take off her purple plastic high heels ( you know the kind you buy in "princess sets" at the store) and she was walking much to quickly and bit it after a late dinner...here is her face after the tumble and in the car...it was so bad that the ice cream we went after didn't even heal the broken girl...she was very upset...her lip and knee were quite wounded.



And this is a picture of some of our carrots we have reaped this week out of our garden...she helped pick them and wash them. I love it that she was so energetic about helping. We got so many!

The Black-Eyed Birthday Boy!

I'm not sure what happened to his eye...but I think he cracked his face on the sandbox earlier in the day (he cried a little) and then all the sudden the black eye appeared. I couldn't get it on camera very good...but it's pretty cute anyway. Monday July 14 Mr. T turned 2! He was pretty thrilled with all the events that transpired and loved cake, presents, candles, and even singing hap-burt -tuh-yoo (happy birthday to you) - he even sang it the next night at Jocilyn's celebrations. Travis helped him blow out his candles and he opened presents by himself. The kid is the most laid back easy going kid I've ever seen...so stinking cute I want to squish him up! I can't believe he is 2 and won't be my baby in a few weeks.

*- *-* -*-* -*Another Tag *- *-* -*-* -*

I love these! Thanks Lynnie~

The rules: List 3 of each: Joys, Fears, Goals, Obsessions and Random things about you. Then tag 5 people.

3 Joys:
*Travis - he makes my life happy even in the hardest of moments...he can make me laugh.
*My Kids - I love kid laughter, little hands holding mine, and kid conversation...they are so sweet.
*Hanging out with my extended family (either side)- regardless of how I am related, I love just hanging our...conversation is fun, you learn about each other and there's always something to be laughed about (and laughing burns calories).
*(I know this is a 4th but it's very important) Diet Pepsi. Is there really anything else as good? Nope.

3 Fears:
*Gaining weight - I have always had issues with this ...I struggle with it on a daily basis...I'm a freak.
*Bugs/Insects/Spiders- I hate crawly things. I am afraid they are going to go in my eye, ear, mouth, etc. I have Hunter kill them when I see them.
*Failure (at anything) - raising kids, school, work, life in general, church...

3 Goals:
*Raise productive good citizens (my kids)- I think my parents did a dang good job with my siblings with music lessons, sports, and other extracurricular activities...I admire them for having the energy for it all and I'm trying to incorporate the same ....
*No debt- ah...wouldn't that be lovely!
*Serve a mission with Travis

3 Obsessions: (perfection is the biggest- it's awful-it rules my life....)
*Cleaning- I have a schedule for sheets, bathrooms, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc....if I don't get them done during the assigned day - I don't sleep well at all.
*Exercising - I do this because I feel good when I do - but especially if I am not eating like I should I obsess over it.
*Fixing things myself. Travis is busy running our company a lot of the time - and as a result I try to conquer anything that is not perfect: plumbing, woodwork, yardwork, etc. on my own. I've learned a lot...but I'm not very good at it...I like things done right when I see they need done...I can't wait. This is a trait I get from my mom.

3 Random Things:
*I don't enjoy anything about cooking. I think it's most coming up with ideas - especially for dinner...I wake up wondering what the heck I will make that night and it haunts me all day. Baking is okay- but that involves sugar- seems much easier and everyone likes sugar.
*When I mow the lawn it has to be diagonal so that it looks better (in my opinion). I love mowing...but not when I'm pregnant.
*I pay bills the day they come in the mail because I'm afraid if I don't, I will forget and they will be late.
*I never sit still- for instance, when my kids are bathing I am cleaning the bathroom. When we are vegging by the tv I am moving loads of laundry or folding, when kids are napping, I am doing business stuff for our BCV company. It makes people crazy that I never sit...also a trait I get from my mom...

Taggers:
Brittany
Scottie
Mary
Heather
Debbie

Sum-Sum-Summertime...

Summer has not been nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I feared how I would entertain my kids (especially Hunter) - but we have fared it well. Recently our stake has issued a 4 weeks of no tv challenge...that has added another element of surprise to our summer planning and creativity. But I must say the kids are entertaining themselves pretty well.

For instance, we had cousins over (Jocilyn and McKenna) to play one day after swimming...so the creative juices began to flow...and the "Fort" came together...as a combined effort the couch was tipped over and blankets were added to make it dark. How did the darkness stay - well, I think the majority of the pairs of shoes in my house were stuck on top to hold them all in place. Pretty creative.






Gwennie has been very mesmerized with bubble blowing lately and as a result has gotten Travis and Hunter involved as well. I just snapped a quick shot to show all of them at their best...oh and don't you fret, it can't just be any kind of gum...but hubba bubba bubble tape is preferred by all of them. Ty just swallows...but he is invovled. :)

A Gardening update

I am not at all a gardener, but I find that trying every year is very fun and I like having my kids help with it....so here are a few pictures of where our "crops" have gotten at this point.

I get excited over very little things....:)


Corn: growing at my mom and dad's house....


Pumpkins, snap peas, cantaloupe, chives, onions, and carrots....(the pumpkins are loads bigger now- overtaking the onions)




This box has tomatoes (big and small) - if they ever bear fruit??
It also has 3 colors of bell peppers, zucchini, and pole beans.

These are the pole beans...they actually climb the trellis thing...I should have gotten a taller one.

Little Mr. T

So we are sitting in church on Sunday (6/29) and I am watching Ty eat some snacks, when I realize his left hand is about 3 times larger than his right. It didn't seem to bother him, so as we are beginning the sacrament, I show Travis...after a little quiet discussion, we decide that it is probably safest to find out why it is so swollen and tight...so, we finish the sacrament and Travis takes Ty and goes home and takes him to Urgent Care. I had to stay at church because my primary class was in charge of sharing time...In the meantime, I kept my cell phone on me to make sure I could get word when we knew what was happening. After a quick in and out at the UC Travis sent me a text that everything was fine. Ty had likely been bitten by a wasp/bee/ bug/ insect of some kind and had an allergic reaction - so they sent him home with some Allegra to try to control the swelling. I got one picture, not sure if you can truly see the size difference in his hands...but here it is. (You can tell if you compare the cup hand to the free hand).


This is one day after swimming lessons and refusing to take a nap until she laid still for more than a few moments....thumb and all.



Hunter got a hold of the camera...not the greatest picture... but very Hunter.


This set of pictures is a day with no naps...we ended up taking the older kids to swim and Tyler fell asleep on the couch watching Nursery Rhymes (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa) - we snapped a few shots...it was pretty cute. (yes he was eating a sucker that stuck to his face as he fell asleep).







This was at a water/fun day that some friends had...Hunter want to ride the horse and Tyler wanted on as well...it turned out to be one of the highlights!